⚡ July 23, 2014

Slow and Steady Progress 🍳

Part of this year's harvest of sticky red raspberries. Wild and sweeter than honey.

I think this might be the longest stretch I’ve ever worked on whatever this is I’m working on, without supervision or deadlines or even stern glances in my direction. I’m studying things that seem to be important in the increasingly smaller scheme of things in the middle of the night, but then by morning, I’m not sure. I don’t have much to show for all my head-banging learning of late, so instead, here’s a pretty picture.

Without a paycheck or an invoice, it’s hard to tell if I’m making any progress. If I were attending a meeting right now, I would be fumbling around for some kind of proof-of-concept to throw on the table to prove I’m doing something worthwhile; something other than learning for the sake of learning. But alas. I have no new web product or link to display just yet.

I’m working with magical incantations spoken at the closed green door of the Jekyll framework, a variant of the Ruby on Rails structuring system. This should allow me a nice RSS feed, finally, among other goodies. Plus, all kinds of nice archival work in the background so I can create organization in the face of chaos. Isn’t that always the goal?

The wild sticky red raspberries that encircle our property are there for the picking. Sure, you get a little scratched up and bug-eaten in the process, and yeah – carbs – but really. Who on the earth can resist hunting and gathering these treats when they are offered so sweetly out in the woods? I only wish I had had the courage to try the mushrooms that one of our trees has offered up again this year.

This is a mushroom known as Chicken of the Woods. I hope. I haven't tried it -- yet.

Here’s where googling can really save your life. I think I’ve identified these specimens as perhaps Laetiporus sulphureus, or colloquially, Chicken of the Woods. Of course, I am Chicken of the Moment, afraid to try even a little piece. More googling, perhaps; meanwhile, this opportunity has withered and dissolved into the duff in the face of my cowardice.

If I were to speculate, I might think that this tree has sensed the various ills and worries that Bill and I exude as we walk by it every day, and it has helpfully presented us with the perfect cure for what ails us. Are we too stupid to see the medicine as the gift it is? Perhaps if I tune-up my inner witch? Such speculation is frowned upon, however, in the modern world.

Theoretical learning has not caught up with the practical, and we struggle on. Nevertheless, I ate the berries, and they were delicious. 🐔